THEPROOF

Just asAbraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Thereforeknow that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And theScripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preachedthe gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all thenations shall be blessed.” So then those who are of faith areblessed with believing Abraham. Galatians 3:6-9.

Introduction

Image from WebWewere reminded that the Promise of eternal life is displayed by the Gospelmessage and that this Promise is conveyed by the Spirit working among us. Inthe following we need to look at how we can know the Spirit is at work among us.What is the evidence, or more strongly, the proof, that He is present with us? There’san old saying which goes: The proof is in the pudding. Well, I’d like tochange that a little to say that the proof is in the Bible.

Thegeneral gist of what we’re looking at is that the Spirit’s work and ourexperience as Christians must line up with Scripture.

We’regoing to see how Paul insists Christians always measure what they think againstScripture!

Wesee that the Lord was supplying the Spirit and that He was doing miracles amongthe Galatians, for back in verse 5 we read, “He … supplies the Spirit to youand works miracles among you.” So, Paul wants the Galatians to understand thatthe Spirit of Christ came to them along with the Gospel. The Spirit works withthe Word. Therefore, the miracles were a sign that the Christ of the Gospel wasin their midst. The word “miracles” here is literally “powerful deeds” or“powerful works.”

    Paulhas already told the Galatians that they had begun in the Spirit (Gal. 3:3). Meaningthat the Spirit had begun His work of sanctification in the Galatians. TheSpirit was the One perfecting them and not they themselves. And the sign orproof of the presence of the Holy Spirit, or if you will, Christ’s Spirit, isin the powerful deeds that are taking place among them. Therefore, Paul’squestion is of the rhetorical variety, “Did you receive the Spirit by the worksof the law, or by the hearing of faith?”

TheGalatians are supposed to answer, “That’s right! The Spirit was here longbefore the Judaizers with their works of the law got here. And we have proof ofthis in the miracles that are taking place among us.” With this thought in mindPaul, a little later, reminds them that God’s covenant with Abraham was 430years before the giving of the Law to Moses (Gal. 3:17). In other words, theGalatians are under the same covenant God made with Abraham! Therefore, theyhave the received the same promise as Abraham. The Promise is Christ, of course.The same Christ who is present doing powerful works among the Galatians by HisSpirit. This is only possible because Jesus is both God and man in one Person. Asman He remains in heaven but as God He’s everywhere, even among the Galatians. AsGod He was even around to talk to Abraham in Abraham’s day. Jesus is the great “IAM” of both the Old and the New Testaments, i.e., the Bible.

Image from Web

Paulis asking how the Galatians received the Spirit – by doing works of the law orby the hearing of faith? Therefore, Paul is equating receiving the Spirit withbelieving the Gospel message. To receive the promise personally you need to be believingin the Gospel. Indeed, Scripture tells us that to receive the Spirit is toreceive the Promise.

Speakingof the Spirit Peter in Acts 2:39 says, For the promise is to you and to yourchildren, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord will call” (Acts2:38-39). The proof then, that the Lord has called you and that you,personally, have received His promise, is the Spirit.

Thesign that the Spirit of Christ was among the Galatians was the miracles. And nodoubt these powerful deeds accompanied the Apostle Paul wherever he went. Whatdid Jesus say to His disciples before His ascension? “But you shall receivepower when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Mein Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts1:8). Paul said to the Romans, “For I will not dare to speak of any of thosethings which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to makethe Gentiles obedient – in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spiritof God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fullypreached the gospel of Christ” (Rom. 15:18-19). And Paul said to theCorinthians, “Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you withall perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds” (2 Cor. 12:12). So,the signs then, were the indication that Christ was indeed with the Apostleamong the Gentile nations – including the Galatians. The object of the exercisewas, as Paul says, “To make the Gentiles obedient” (Rom. 15:18b).

TheApostle Peter mentions Galatia at the beginning of his first letter, “Peter, anapostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia,Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, insanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood ofJesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:1-2a).

Whethera Christian has come from a Jewish background or a non-Jewish background, allChristians are to be obedient to the Gospel. Hence Paul saying in Galatians 3:1,“Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth?” There is animportant general principle here, to do with the covenant of grace. It is this:God blesses obedience, and He curses disobedience among His people. Keep thatin mind and you’ll begin to understand why Paul is so resolute with theGalatians. Then you’ll begin to catch on to what God meant when He said toAbraham, “In you all the nations shall be blessed” (Gen. 22:18; cf. 12:3).

Godblessed the obedience of Christ by giving Him all nations for an inheritance. AndGod is blessing these Galatians, who were predominantly a nation of Celts, inthat they were hearing and believing the same gospel Abraham heard and believed.But it doesn’t matter whether your Celtic, Anglo/Saxon, North AmericanAboriginal or Australian Aboriginal, Chinese, African etc, the blessing is forall nations. The Lord through his Prophet Joel says, “I will pour out My Spiriton all flesh” (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17). But these Galatians are in the process ofturning their backs on the blessing.

Thesign that the blessing has come upon you is the Gospel accompanied by powerfuldeeds. We’re talking about the stuff we only hear about in revivals. And we’renot talking about the man-u-factured stuff of some American TV Evangelists. Therefore,these powerful deeds or working of miracles Paul is referring to in Galatians3:5 no doubt included the sign gifts of the Apostolic Age. So, we’d expect thatsome of the Galatians would have had the gifts as listed in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10.These include: “...a word of wisdom through the Spirit...the word of knowledgethrough the same Spirit...faith by the same Spirit...gifts of healing, workingof miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, different kinds of tongues,interpretation of tongues.”

Thesesign gifts were given as proof that all nations were included in the Gospelblessing. The Lord commanded His Apostles “...Go and make disciples of all thenations, etc.” (Matt. 28:19ff). Therefore, the sign gifts were proof that theywere saved by grace not works.; because only the Spirit can work miracles –which are signs, visible manifestations of God’s grace.

See Amazon for a copyAnothersign that Christ was in their midst would be the fruit of the Spirit. Paulprovides a short list of some of the fruit for the Galatians 5. Each GalatianChristian should have been experiencing: “...love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness,goodness, faithfulness,    gentleness,self-control” (Gal. 5:22). But the number one sign that Paul is hammering home –the main proof the Galatians have received the Spirit – is the Gospel. Theyheard the Gospel they were believing it! What more proof does a person need? Andthey were to demonstrate their love for Christ by being obedient to the truth. Thehearing of faith believes the gospel for eternal life. And to believe thegospel is to receive the Promise. And to receive the Promise is to receiveChrist. And to receive Christ is to receive His Spirit. And to receive HisSpirit is to receive proof that the Gospel Promise of eternal life in JesusChrist is for real and is for you the individual. This was reality for Abraham.It was reality for the Galatians. And it is reality for us today.

“Justas Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (Gal.3:6). This is the heart of the Gospel. We are justified in God’s eyes by faith andnot by our works. We’ll look at the doctrine of Justification in a chapter upahead. But for now, we’re looking at some of the signs that would indicate aperson has been justified, i.e., declared by God to be righteous, in the right withGod.

Themain sign that you’ve been justified is that you have faith in Christ alone forsalvation as He is presented in the Gospel. And one major sign that you havethis kind of faith is your obedience to the Gospel. It goes without saying,that if you’re obedient to the truth, then you’re at the same time repenting ofyour sins. For Jesus Christ Himself commands us to, “Repent and believe in thegospel” (Mark 1:15). Therefore, a sign you’re not believing is acontinuation of your sins without repentance.

TheChristian, although he’s never free from sinning in this life, should be,nevertheless, hating his sins. That’s repentance. And repentance is, of course,one of the major signs that you are indeed a believer. Anyway, enough of signs.

Wonders

We’renot so much looking at wonders in the miraculous sense of the word, as in signsand wonders, because we’ve already done some of that. Instead, we’re using theword in the question sense. For example: One wonders what has gotten into theGalatians! Paul is certainly wondering. Let me illustrate this: You’ll noticethat each of the first five verses of Galatians chapter 3 ends with a questionmark. At least the way it’s worded in the NKJV. Anyway, Paul engages theGalatians in a whole bunch of questions. He’s wondering: Who has bewitched theGalatians? (Gal. 3:1). How did they receive the Spirit: By a free gift or didthey work to receive Him? (Gal. 3:2). Are they so foolish as to want to givethe Spirit away and try to go it alone? Was what they’ve experienced all fornothing?

It’simportant to note that Paul is engaging the minds of the Galatians here. He’sgoing after their minds. He wants them to wonder about themselves. He wantsthem to wonder about how they can tell if they’re saved or not. Who is JesusChrist? Why was He crucified? Who is the Spirit? What is He doing? How can youtell He’s in your midst? Consider the facts. Mill them over in your mind.

Image from Web    Hestarts by engaging the intellect of the Galatians. And it’s important that wespeak to people’s minds. Christianity isn’t for those who believe in blindfaith. Those who don’t really care what the Bible says but they say theybelieve it anyway. Christianity’s not like that. Christianity is the thinking-man’sreligion. Oh sure, the village idiot can be a Christian. We don’t all need thebrain of an Einstein. But Scripture says, “Be transformed by the renewing ofyour mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect willof God” (Rom. 12:2).

TheGalatians are falling down a bit here! They’re failing to prove what the good,acceptable and perfect will of God is. They’ve fallen at the first hurdle. They’veheard all about God’s free offer of grace in the cross of Christ. And nowthey’re beginning to think a must needs to be circumcised to be saved. Paul’ssaying in essence, “Use your heads you foolish Galatians!”

AfterHis resurrection the Lord walked with a couple of His disciples on the road toEmmaus and said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in allthat the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered thesethings and to enter into His glory?” He engaged their minds. He asked them aquestion. Then He answers His own question. Luke 24:27, “And beginning at Mosesand the all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the thingsconcerning Himself.”

Jesusengaged the minds of His disciples. Paul engaged the minds of the Galatians. Andthey both did so by getting the people to think about the Scriptures. We needto think about the Scriptures. We need to ponder and wonder what these thingsmean. And we must not rest until we find the answers if they can be found.

Christianityis the thinking-man’s religion. Don’t let any anti-intellectual tell youdifferent. If you’re wondering why there’s so many heresies being adhered to inthe churches, it’s because too many Christians are ignorant of what the Bibleteaches. “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophetshave spoken!” says Jesus “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that youshould not obey the truth?” says His Apostle.

Weneed to know the Scriptures. For the Scriptures are the truth. And it’s thetruth that sets us free, even from our bondage under the Covenant of Works. “Engageyour minds!” That’s what we should be hearing. But this doesn’t mean thatpeople who are brain-damaged can’t be saved? Neither does it mean that peoplecannot be saved as infants. But what it does mean is that those who can aresupposed to exercise their intellects.

Image from Web    Thinkabout the Scriptures. Ponder them. Mill them over in your minds. Deepen yourunderstanding and you’ll avoid pickles such as the one at Galatia. But noticethat Paul also goes after the heart, as did the Lord on the road to Emmaus. Jesussaid to the disciples, “Ought not the Lord to have suffered these things and toenter into His glory” (Luke 24:26). Christ wants them to think of the meaningof the cross in light of the rest of Scripture. But, as they do so, He wantsthem to consider what He experienced, what He suffered. Paul has already madethe astounding statement to the Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ!”(Gal. 2:20). And then he reminds them that the crucified Christ had beenportrayed before their eyes. So, now that he’s got the Galatians thinking aboutChrist and Him crucified, he asks the question, “Have you suffered so manythings in vain?” That’s the heart-attack! Or rather an attack on the heart,might be a better way of putting it.

Considerthe suffering of Christ. Consider what it all means. Consider it all in thelight of the Scriptures. Did Jesus Christ suffer in vain? And the Galatians aresupposed to think to themselves, “Of course He didn’t! We have eternal lifethrough believing in Him. We have God’s promise which is confirmed by thepresence of the Spirit. We know the Spirit is here because we are believing inthe crucified and risen Christ.” Well then, now that you have understood it allintellectually: Has all your suffering for the sake of Christ likewise been invain?

You’veheard of the Passion of Christ which refers primarily to what He suffered atHis crucifixion? Jesus used the word “suffered” when He talked with the men onthe road to Emmaus. Paul is using the same word here as he talked to theGalatians. The word speaks of things you experience. So, we notice somethingvery important here for Christians today. Christianity is an experientialreligion. If you read some of the Puritans, you’ll hear them use the wordexperimental. By this they meant that Christianity is a religion which engagesthe whole man. It’s not a dead intellectualism which detaches itself from allemotion like Mr. Spock on Star Trek. Neither is it an emotional free-for-allwhere everyone gets to do what they want.

Christianityis the thinking man’s religion. But it is at the same time the religion offeelings. However, the emotions must match the facts. Therefore, you must knowthe facts before you can respond with the appropriate emotion. Otherwise,you’re just a fool! “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?” You areacting like fools! You are not acting according to the facts of the Gospel. Thinkabout what you are doing. Think about it in the light of the Scriptures. Upuntil the Judaizers came along with their funny teachings, you wereexperiencing the normal life of the Christian. You were experiencing the usualfriction between yourselves and your unsaved mums and dads, brothers andsisters, friends. You were experiencing the Holy Spirit at work among you.

Yousaw the Lord perform miracles, and what Christian hasn’t? The Lord sometimesanswers our prayers in miraculous ways. But most of all, we know the Lord is atwork when people come to know the Lord. When His people seek a deeperunderstanding of His Word. We know the Lord is in our midst when people areobedient to God’s Word. But when people just do their own thing withoutthinking it through, then we know we are among a bunch of fools such as theseGalatians. Because that is the essence of what you are saying.

Toturn again to works is to turn away from Christ. It is to say that He sufferedin vain. It is to say that what you have suffered up till now has been in vain.One has to wonder along with Paul, why? Since Christ had clearly portrayedamong them as crucified before their eyes.

Aswe begin to tie things together, let me do so by drawing you attention to 1Thessalonians 2:9-10. “The coming of the lawless one is according to theworking of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders, and with allunrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive thelove of the truth, that they might be saved.”

Ifyou have ever wondered how to tell the difference between the genuine workSpirit, and the counterfeit work of Satan, it’s in 2 Thessalonians 2:10. Whenit comes to all the signs and wonders there is one sign that stands out aboveall. This is the sign that separates the Christian from the non-Christian. Itseparates those who are pretending form those who are born again. Non-Christianand counterfeit Christian alike are, according to 2 Thessalonians 2:10, “thosewho perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they mightbe saved.”

Whatis the sign that a man has received this gift – this love of the truth? WellJesus says to His Father, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John17:17). Therefore, the proof is not in how well you can speak in otherlanguages you’ve never studied. Nor is it through how many healings you haveperform. Satan is able to fool people by counterfeiting all of that. In fact,Jesus says, “False christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs andwonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matt. 24:24).

Conclusion

Image from WebOneof the chief signs you should be looking for is an insatiable desire to studyGod’s Word. You should have a powerful love for the truth that should beexpressed in the way you live your life. And one of the chief wonders has to bethe so few Christian nowadays who know their Bibles. Not every Christian can bea Knox or a Calvin. But every Christian should be hungering after therighteousness revealed in the Gospel. And where are you going to find therighteousness you need so badly if you won’t study your Bible?

Ifthe Galatians listened more to the teaching of the Gospel and less to theclaims of men, then they wouldn’t have been in such a pickle. So always keep inmind that the Spirit’s work and our experience as Christians must line up withScripture.